Earth’s geographic poles wander more than we had thoughtThu, 01 Oct 2026 18:00:00 +0000 A phenomenon known as true polar wander, different to the movement of the magnetic poles, may be more common and more dramatic than previously known | |
Ukraine rolls out drone-stopping razor fence to thwart attacksThu, 01 Oct 2026 16:00:00 +0000 Most of the drones being used by Russia in the war with Ukraine are controlled by cables several tens of kilometres long. A new defensive tool cuts the cables to stop the drones | |
Elephants imitate each other when they produce deep rumbling soundsThu, 01 Oct 2026 15:00:00 +0000 African savannah elephants use a variety of calls to communicate, and now machine learning has shown that they tune their deepest sounds to match those of other nearby elephants | |
Placenta wrap hastens erection recovery after prostate surgeryThu, 01 Oct 2026 14:00:00 +0000 Dried amniotic membranes from donated placentas can be wrapped around delicate nerves during prostate cancer surgery to hasten the time to a first erection after the procedure | |
The best popular-science books of October 2026Thu, 01 Oct 2026 13:15:00 +0000 With a new book from the late primatologist Frans de Waal and a deep dive into artificial intelligence from New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose, there is some hard-hitting popular science to look forward to this month – with added Pokémon, says Liz Else | |
A lack of rockets is creating a crisis for space technology companiesThu, 01 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000 SpaceX’s changing priorities, the war in Ukraine and a lack of competitors are all causing a launch crisis that might last years | |
Can mathematicians still refuse to use AI at this point?Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000 There’s no question AI has transformed the field of mathematics in the past few months. Columnist Jacob Aron wonders if it will soon be impossible to be an AI refusenik and continue working in the field | |
Anglo-Saxons got special treatment in medieval RomeWed, 30 Sep 2026 23:01:00 +0000 A small hoard of medieval English coins found near the Vatican in Rome suggests that early English residents held a privileged status in the holy city | |
Twisteddoodles on the discovery of a new cat speciesWed, 30 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 This week's cartoon from Twisteddoodles | |
Tom Gauld on an audience with the great theoretical scientistWed, 30 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 Tom Gauld's weekly cartoon | |